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Leeds

Huge new £15m sports hub in Holbeck to be given green light by Leeds City Council

Clementine Hall - 4th March 2026

The final go-ahead is expected to be given for work to start on a major new £15million sports hub in Holbeck.

Senior councillors are expected to give the approval next Wednesday 11 March at an executive board meeting.

An agreement will be made on a contractor to complete the work which will bring state-of-the-art sports pitches and a community space to the city.

Holbeck Sports Hub will provide three full-size artificial grass football pitches, two multi-use games areas and a building with changing rooms and a café.

Holbeck sports hub. — Image: Supplied

Work is expected to begin in August 2026 and is set to be built at the site of the former Matthew Murray High School.

The plan is to also provide a home to a new GP surgery as well as a children’s play area and walking and running routes through the green space which sits off Brown Lane East and Ingram Road.

Image: Supplied

Councillor Salma Arif, Leeds City Council’s executive member for adult social care, active lifestyles and culture, said: “We look forward to the work starting on the Holbeck Sports Hub, which will be a significant asset to the local community and residents in south Leeds.

“It will provide affordable and accessible quality sports pitches, providing more opportunities for physical activity and play and spaces to meet up and connect.

“We are also working towards an agreement with a GP practice so that the area can benefit from new high-quality healthcare provision to meet the needs of the community.”

The programme is joint funded by the Football Foundation and Leeds City Council capital funding.

You can read the full report here.

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Featured image - Supplied (Press photos)

Leeds

New grassroots music space aiming to make DJing and music more accessible opening in Headingley this month

Clementine Hall

A new grassroots music space is opening in Headingley with a mission to make DJing, vinyl and music culture more accessible.

Meanhood Studios, founded by long-time LS6 residents Jim and Katie Young, will combine a professional DJ rehearsal studio, record shop, performance space and tuition hub all under one roof.

Their aim is simple, "to level the playing field in a scene that has often felt exclusive and gatekept.”

Meanhood started as a guerrilla pop-up record shop in lockdown when Jim started selling records from his personal collection.

Built solely on quality and word-of-mouth reputation, the venture quickly grew into a respected local record spot known for its carefully curated vinyl selection.

Images: Supplied

Images: Supplied

Jim’s roots trace back to Manchester’s late-90s free party scene, he began DJing at 17 and from Hyde Park house parties to residencies at legendary clubs, he went on to host nights featuring artists who would later become major names in UK dance music.

Katie grew up in rural Cumbria, discovering music through pirate radio, library tapes and out-of-town raves. After moving to Leeds for university, she built a 20-year corporate career while supporting events, fly-posting for club nights and working behind the scenes.

“DJing is so much more than pushing buttons,” says Jim. “You’ve got to love it when no one’s watching. We want to share that knowledge and remove some of the barriers we experienced.”

Meanhood Studios will open on Friday 13 March and will offer access to equipment, rehearsal space, vinyl records and tuition for aspiring DJs and music lovers.

It's more important now than ever to support grassroots music venues, and we can't wait to check out this new space.

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Featured images - Supplied

Leeds

Leeds has been named one of UK’s ‘loneliest’ cities with high percentage of people living alone

According to new research, Leeds has been named one of the ‘loneliest’ in the UK due to the number of single occupants.

Living alone used to be seen as somewhat of a short-term ‘phase’, often between living in family homes or house shares, but today it’s a completely different story, as solo living is fast becoming a defining feature of urban Britain.

From high-rise studio flats, to compact commuter apartments, single-occupancy living is reshaping the character of many UK cities.

While for some, living alone simply represents independence and flexibility, for others it’s more a case of necessity – with wider demographic data apparently showing single-occupancy linked to student populations, delayed family formation, career mobility, and rising house prices that make shared living less practical.

Image - Ben Elliot ( via Unsplash )

But, with all things considered then, which towns and cities in the UK have the most solo occupants? The ‘loneliest’ cities, if you will.

A new study by Tarotoo set out to identify where solo living is most concentrated across the UK, with researchers analysing 58 cities, examining the number of studio and one-bedroom homes listed for sale or rent per 10,000 residents using Rightmove data – and it was Salford over in Manchester that came out on top.

Salford topped the ranking with a striking 158.08 single-occupancy homes per 10,000 people, which is more than double the figure of the city in second place, and also vastly ahead of the national average.

Leeds came in fifth place with a score of 50.62, standing out as one of the largest cities in the top tier.

Other northern cities in the top 20 include Lancaster at fourth place, and outside the top 20 is where you’ll find other northern cities like Liverpool, Chester, York, and Sheffield.

At the opposite end of the ranking, Newport records just 2.59 single-occupancy homes per 10,000 people, which is the lowest figure in the study, and it’s then followed by Glasgow (3.29), Swansea (3.78), Dundee (4.33), and Stoke-on-Trent (4.51).

Read more: ‘Ugly, run-down’ and ‘untidy’ – Leeds named UK’s tenth best big city

Featured Image – Patrick Perkins (via Unsplash)